Closer to Home [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Grand Funk Railroad
Engineer: Ken Hamann
Producer: Shannon Ward; Terry Knight; Bryan Kelley; David K. Tedds (Reissue)
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Grand Funk Railroad: Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Don Bewer (vocals, drums); Mel Schacher (bass). Recorded at Cleveland Recording Company Studios, Cleveland, Ohio in March 1970. Originally released on Capitol (471). Includes liner notes by Steve Roeser. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Don Brewer (vocals, drums). Audio Mixer: Jimmy Hoyson. Liner Note Authors: Steve Roeser; Terry Knight . Recording information: Cleveland Recording Company Studios (03/09/1970-06/25/1970); The Orlando Sports Center, FL (03/09/1970-06/25/1970). Grand Funk's third studio album, 1970's CLOSER TO HOME, was the album that catapulted the band into the big time and placed it at the top of the hard rock heap. One of GFR's most consistent albums, the most recognizable song remains the title track, which deals with the nightmare of getting drafted into the then still raging Vietnam war. Add to it such other solid rocking ditties as "Sin's a Good Man's Brother," "Nothing is the Same," and "Hooked on Love," and you have arguably Grand Funk's finest album. This was the record that sent Grand Funk over the top. Throwing strings into the hard rock mix on the epic "I'm Your Captain," it also contained the show-stopper "Mean Mistreater." Although the production leaves something to be desired, this record is quite a statement even by today's standards. [The 2002 reissue adds four bonus tracks: an alternate mix of "Mean Mistreater" and versions of "In Need," "Heartbreaker," and "Mean Mistreater" recorded live at the Orlando Sports Center on June 25, 1970.] ~ James Chrispell

Homer Simpson may have captured the essence of Grand Funk Railroad in the SIMPSONS episode where he rhapsodizes about "Mark Farner's wild, shirtless lyrics, the bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher," and yes, "the competent drum work of Don Brewer." Emerging from the industrial town of Flint, MI, Grand Funk were a workman-like "people's band." They turned the Cream power-trio format into a stadium filling, larger-than-life experience that made them one of the most popular live acts of the early '70s. Their early albums were filled with amped-up blues-rock, but towards the end of their initial tether, they scored hits with covers of soul tunes such as "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "The Locomotion." IRS troubles contributed to their breakup in the late-'70s, but Grand Funk reunited with a vengeance in the '90s.

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